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Monthly Archives March 31, 2020

Pestilence and Quarantine: Poetry on the CCP Virus (Coronavirus)

The Society
March 31, 2020
Covid-19, Culture, Humor, Poetry
48 Comments
  Pestilence Killed Them by James Sale The Pestilence killed them So the Proverb said, And with that happy thought They laid down in their bed. The Pestilence killed them--- Who else could it...

‘The Valley’ by Martin Hill Ortiz

The Society
March 31, 2020
Humor, Poetry, The Raven
10 Comments
  Cruising down an LA freeway, hustling for a little leeway Passing many a rusted relic from Detroit's Plutonian shore. Hoping all would turn to see me, knowing all would want to be me Driving in my...

‘Harbinger’s Gift’ by Tony L. Damigo

The Society
March 30, 2020
Culture, Poetry
4 Comments
  My waning days give way as dark besieges all my light. My tree, its branches sway in frigid Winter winds that bite! So too, the chill consumes me as my crackling hearth yet burns. The flicker of...

The Dark and the Light: Poetry on the CCP Virus (Novel Coronavirus)

The Society
March 29, 2020
Beauty, Covid-19, Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Human Rights in China, Limerick, Poetry
7 Comments
As the Lights Go Out - the Last Limerick "The night cometh, when no man can work." John, 9:4 by Joe Tessitore I can tell there will be no escape From this hellishly chilling landscape Born of hatred...

‘Song of the Elk’ by Alexander King Ream

The Society
March 29, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
9 Comments
  From hoof and hide, to flank and horn, Amid the wood, was noble born, Upon the field I walked at length, Swift in motion, high in strength, And scarcely did I need to boast, Rare of speech,...

‘Whisper of Thunder’ by T.M. Moore

The Society
March 28, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
4 Comments
  Job 26.8-14 The flash and crash were simultaneous. The whole house shuddered, like it was about to come apart, and all the lights went out. The dogs erupted in a frenzied fuss of frightened...

‘The Once-Lost Land’ and Other Poetry by Joseph Charles MacKenzie

The Society
March 27, 2020
Beauty, Love Poems, Poetry
42 Comments
The Once-Lost Land The arm that threw the disc of day __Across the sky we know must dim, The hand that strewed the Milky Way __Where angels swim, From far beyond the farthest star Composed the darkness...

Humorous Poetry for the CCP Virus (COVID-19) Quarantine

The Society
March 26, 2020
Clerihew, Covid-19, Culture, Humor, Poetry
108 Comments
Note: The Society of Classical Poets refers to the COVID-19 coronavirus as the CCP virus because the Chinese Communist Party’s coverup and mismanagement allowed the virus to spread throughout China and...

‘Im Fruhling’ (‘In Spring’) by Ernst Schulze, and Other Translations by David B. Gosselin

The Society
March 26, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Music, Poetry, Translation
5 Comments
  Im Fruhling (In Spring) by Ernst Schulze (1789-1817) I sit here lonely on a hill Where skies are clear and blue; The sunset casts a glowing veil Over the deep and tranquil dale— I used to love...

‘Mist in the Forest’ by Leo Zoutewelle

The Society
March 25, 2020
Beauty, Poetry
10 Comments
. A very finely scattered sigh Of bashful mist would nigh attend My view and try---one wonders why--- To dare with utmost care to blend The reigning stateliness of trees on high. And yes, my half-closed eyes...

Turning to Heaven During CCP Virus Epidemic: Three Poems

The Society
March 24, 2020
Beauty, Covid-19, Culture, Poetry
6 Comments
  Remember God “Men have forgotten God; that’s why all this has happened.” —Alexandr Solzhenitsyn by Connie Phillips We must remember God in all we do, And keep Him always in our hearts and...

‘Bill Butler Leaves His Mark’ by David Watt

The Society
March 24, 2020
Culture, Humor, Poetry
29 Comments
  Bill Butler made a shopping trip each Friday, to the town, Astride his silver bicycle he’d purchased for a crown; For this was many years ago when pace of life was slow And cars were deemed a...

‘Briefs’: A New Poetry Form

The Society
March 23, 2020
Culture, Essays, Humor, Poetry, Poetry Contests, Poetry Forms
21 Comments
by James A. Tweedie The form of the “brief” ordinarily consists of a couplet of anapestic tetrameter with the first soft beat of each line clipped off (x / xx / xx / xx /). The anapest, which functions...

‘If a Contemporary Free-Verse Poet Wrote a Sonnet’: A Poem and Brief Essay

The Society
March 23, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Essays, Poetry
17 Comments
by James A. Tweedie   If a Contemporary Free-Verse Poet Wrote a Sonnet Today, because I’m early for Pilates, __I stop at Starbucks for a cappuccino, __But change my mind because the mocha...

A Poem on the World Health Organization’s Praise for Beijing, by Bruce Dale Wise

The Society
March 22, 2020
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Human Rights in China, Poetry
61 Comments
  The World Health Organization by Baidu Wercs Lee The WHO has praised Beijing's response to COVID-19's spread, despite the fact of all the many thousands that are dead. The Chinese first detected it...

‘Carmen Cygni, a Retourne’ by Mike Bryant

The Society
March 22, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Found Poem, Humor, Poetry
19 Comments
  Carmen Cygni, a Retourne She holds the sickle and the scythe, Dark clothed and hooded, glimpse of white. A dancer languorous but lithe, She stands between the day and night. Dark clothed and...

A Translation of ‘Hector and Andromache’ by Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805)

The Society
March 21, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Homer, Poetry, Translation
4 Comments
  translation by Jonathan Shoulta Andromache Will you, my Hector, forever go away to where with unmatched hands Achilles makes Patroclus bloody off'rings? ____________________Who will teach your...

Poetry on Panic Buying

The Society
March 20, 2020
Culture, Humor, Poetry
17 Comments
  Pearls of Wisdom in Times of Crisis by Susan Jarvis Bryant Pearl clutchers of the world, please take a breath: take time to breathe the balm of calm’s bouquet; let rasping gasps of anguish slip...

‘The Graveyard of My Mind’ by Phil S. Rogers

The Society
March 20, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
6 Comments
  I pour myself four fingers, or maybe it is five, sit in a broken rocker and slowly close my eyes. I muse on my survival for nigh on eighty years, A victory in heart, despite a wealth of tears. My...

‘The Glory of Spring’ by M. P. Lauretta

The Society
March 19, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
18 Comments
  Mere words have not the power to convey the loveliness laid out before my eyes; this triumph of rebirth; this lustrous day; this crowning of Creation’s enterprise. This is the time when man and...

‘If Biden Had a Brain’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
March 18, 2020
Culture, Humor, Poetry
30 Comments
  He has spent a shower of hours obtaining power and glowers from bigwigs in Ukraine--- he’d minimize the drama and he’d be the next Obama if he only had a brain. “You’re a dog-faced...

Three Poems on the Spread of the CCP Virus (COVID-19)

The Society
March 17, 2020
Covid-19, Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Human Rights in China, Humor, Poetry
12 Comments
The Society of Classical Poets refers to the COVID-19 coronavirus as the CCP virus because the Chinese Communist Party’s coverup and mismanagement allowed the virus to spread throughout China and create a...

‘Brave Soldiers We’ and Other Poetry by Beverly Stock

The Society
March 17, 2020
Culture, Poetry
1 Comment
  Brave Soldiers We after "The Things We Dare Not Tell" by Henry Lawson We muster in the heat somewhere, We sign our oaths, and then we swear, Brave soldiers we, are doing well, Yet, there are...

‘This Luxurious Empire’ and Other Poetry by Anissa Nedzel Gage

The Society
March 16, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
15 Comments
  This Luxurious Empire Vesuvius, you have destroyed a world! __With roars of fire and thunder, hails of ash, __You've hurled your blistering soul, with sulfurous flash Of fire-lightning—certain...
poem/flott/culture

‘Planned Barrenhood’ by Theresa Rodriguez

The Society
March 15, 2020
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Poetry
8 Comments
  Margaret Sanger was the founder of Planned Parenthood Moloch: ancient Canaanite god of child sacrifice Is there one in your neighborhood? The place I call Planned Barrenhood? A Margaret Sanger...

‘If Milton Were Alive Today’ by Andrew Benson Brown

The Society
March 14, 2020
Culture, Humor, Poetry
17 Comments
  The blind poet awakes and feels his way Into the living room, where light of day Will find his daughters ready to preserve The words of truth and beauty that disturb His sleep, and roll forth from...

‘Tower of Ivory’ by Joseph Charles MacKenzie

The Society
March 13, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
9 Comments
  What curve, what contrapposto, shift of weight, Recalls the tusk from which some Gothic hand Had carved the Paris Virgin holding straight My King enthroned upon an ivory stand! What smiles, no...

The Divine Significance of the Coronavirus: Three Poems on the Wuhan Flu

The Society
March 12, 2020
Covid-19, Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Human Rights in China, Poetry
93 Comments
  The Crown of Wuhan by Daniel Kemper "Hast thou forgot me then?" says she of dreams, "A Goddess arm'd Out of thy head I sprung... Come see the way your princess-queen redeems your works. Do I not...

‘Being Ducks’ by James Sale

The Society
March 12, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry
32 Comments
  for Mark F. Stone and all his pets The duck has special properties: Like water off its back; If only we as humans could Perfect the duck’s dry knack. It’s not that water isn’t there Or...

‘Candidatus Non Compos Mentis’ by Rob Crisell

The Society
March 11, 2020
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Human Rights in China, Humor, Poetry
14 Comments
  Candidatus Non Compos Mentis Joe lacks the humility To see the futility Of running for office While fighting senility. With growing pugnacity, He aims his mendacity At all who object to His...

‘Unbridled Change’ and Other Poetry by John Marmaro

The Society
March 11, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
3 Comments
  Unbridled Change O tempora! O mores!... Fuit ista quondam in hac re publica virtus... ---Cicero, First Catiline Oration These days of changing values can be hard: What once was just, today's...

‘The Author’ and Other Poetry by Rod Walford

The Society
March 10, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry
18 Comments
  The Author He portrays a lonely figure In his cottage by the sea With his pencil and his paper and his dog. Gone his youthful verve and vigour But remaining in its lee Is the gift that soon will...

‘A Soliloquy on Modern Poetry’ and Other Poetry by Richard Lackman

The Society
March 9, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry
4 Comments
  A Soliloquy on Modern Poetry  I write this, a soliloquy Regarding modern poetry. I don’t appreciate the terse Disheveled nature of free verse. So much of it just seems contrived And of true...

A Poem on Sam Gilliland: ‘The Last Bard of Scotland’ by Joseph Charles MacKenzie

The Society
March 8, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
109 Comments
  Waters of Irvine and Annock, flow with my tears, West to the Firth of Clyde and Arran: Soon, soon, Ayr will be mute and barren. Flow, waters, flow, like the passing of long, lost...

‘Daylight Savings’ by T.M. Moore

The Society
March 7, 2020
Culture, Humor, Poetry
6 Comments
  "Save daylight!" spoke the powers-that-be, and everyone supined, except for Arizona, see, which steadfastly declined. Hawaii, too, and certain parts of Indiana judged that darkness suited more...
poem/Tweedi/winter

‘Snowdrops’ by Martin Rizley

The Society
March 7, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
17 Comments
  Now breaking through the crust of snow, pale messengers appear To herald with celestial glow the springtime of the year; With gentle boldness, bursting forth, They beckon warming winds...

SCP Poetry Symposium 2020—“A Celebration of Meter and Rhyme”

The Society
March 6, 2020
From the Society, Poetry, Readings, Symposium
1 Comment
  NOTE: This event has been canceled due to the CCP virus (COVID-19) pandemic. A new online SCP Symposium has been planned. The details of the online symposium will be available here on May...

‘Threadbare—a Haiku’ and Other Poetry by Joe Tessitore

The Society
March 6, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Haiku and Senryu, Poetry
7 Comments
  My Coat---a Haiku God pays no heed to disguises He can see through--- I've worn myself out.   The Old Poet's Tree I'm bent with age and the cold, empty page has a lesson it can...

What Happened to Narrative Poetry?—An Opinion Piece by James A. Tweedie

The Society
March 5, 2020
Culture, Epic, Essays, Poetry, Short Stories
26 Comments
This isn’t so much an essay as it is an opinion piece where I shoot off a few words in praise of narrative poetry or, in other words, poetry that tells a story. From Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, to...

A Bernie Sanders Poem: ‘B.S., 2020’ by Joe Tessitore

The Society
March 4, 2020
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Humor, Poetry
16 Comments
  Who is this finger-waving man--- this millionaire, this communist? Let’s think about him while we can, this grandpa with the Marxist twist. Our wealth, I fear, he’ll commandeer “to help the...
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  1. Joseph S. Salemi on ‘Kissing Cousin’ and Other Poems by Joseph S. SalemiMay 24, 2025

    Well, you know more about these seven different types than I do. If philautia is self-love, then it is a…

  2. Margaret Coats on ‘Wedding Night’ by Christine de Pisan, Translated by Margaret CoatsMay 24, 2025

    Thank you, Roy. The fine young husband's name is Estienne [Stephen] de Castel. He and Christine were happy for ten…

  3. Frank Rable on ‘Kissing Cousin’ and Other Poems by Joseph S. SalemiMay 24, 2025

    Okay. I will ask this as a student to the professor, and absolutely no criticism is intended. When first hearing…

  4. Cynthia L Erlandson on ‘What the Caterpillar Calls the End’: A Poem by Scharlie MeeuwsMay 24, 2025

    This is beautiful! My favorite lines were "Wrapped in a thread the dusk supplied." ; "But Time, that patient artisan";…

  5. Margaret Coats on ‘Sumo’s Winning Ways’ by Margaret CoatsMay 24, 2025

    Thanks, Warren. Glad I noticed this just as 24-year-old Onosato won the May tournament with two days of fighting yet…

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